Life

Why I’m not setting goals for 2018

Happy New Year, everyone!!! Who here has set 849383 goals to lose weight and learn a foreign language and get promoted and do all the things?!?! Usually I’m all about that life. Goals help me order my thoughts and see my priorities, and as a type-A entrepreneur my life doesn’t run without to do lists. But I’m not setting goals for 2018.

Why I'm not setting goals for 2018 | Teaspoon of Nose

I sat down about 12 different times in December to set goals in 2018. But it was really hard to come up with concrete goals for myself. Eventually I just decided to call it; I’m not setting goals for 2018. There are two reasons behind this: one is that I’m trying to be less obsessed the with to do list. I want to do things because I enjoy them, not because they’re on an arbitrary list I must accomplish by the end of the year.

The other reason is a lot more straightforward. I found it hard to set concrete goals for this year because Logan is deploying.

We knew when he commissioned that deployment was on the table. JAG officers typically only deploy once or twice in their career, so doing it in your first four years is rare. Honestly, I hadn’t given deployment much thought.

One Thursday I came home in a rush, trying to cook dinner for our small group and text my hours in to my coffee shop supervisor and get us back out the door in less than an hour, Logan tells me he got some news at work today. I have the sense to put down the phone and step away from the stove before he says it.  Exactly one year and one day after arriving at our first Air Force assignment, he finds out he’s being deployed.

Even after a month of knowing, I still haven’t fully processed it. We’ve done 10 weeks away from each other, but somehow that feels vastly different that being half a world away for six months.


Why I'm not setting goals for 2018 | Teaspoon of Nose

I’m sure I’ll freak out, be upset, react with fill-in-the-blank emotion at some point. Right now I’m trying to look at the positive: that the timing of this, while unexpected, is probably the best case scenario. I’m happy to go back to my hometown, and being self-employed makes that a no-brainer. We don’t have kids yet, so I don’t have to figure out the complications that so many military spouses face with caring for their kids as single parents. We also get the gift of notice: not every military family gets a few months to wrap their head around the news, make plans, prepare. We did, and I’m thankful for that.

All of this to say that each time I thought about personal goals for 2018, I drew a blank. I don’t even know where I’ll be living for most of 2018, so setting goals about learning Spanish or reading X amount of books or sticking to a workout regimen feels foreign, complicated. Not feasible, at least not for me to make as a blanket statement over the next year.

So in light of this, I’m not setting goals for 2018, at least personally. I have professional goals, yes: I can’t wait to show all the new ideas I have for growing this blog and my Etsy shop. I’ll spare you the nitty gritty and save it for some exciting reveals soon.

Why I'm not setting goals for 2018 | Teaspoon of Nose

I’m not sure when I’ll be ready to talk about deployment more here, but I wanted to share the news. At some point, I would love your suggestions and practical tips, but I’m not quite there yet. If you have any encouragement or prayers, I’d love to hear it – feel free to email me or comment below.

Thanks for being patient and kind with us in the midst of this!

Are you setting goals this year?

11 thoughts on “Why I’m not setting goals for 2018

  1. Wow that is big news about the deployment! I don’t have any good advice here, but if you’re coming back to NC that’s exciting news at least 🙂 Hopefully I’ll get to see you again soon! I know you didn’t set explicit goals, but it kinda sounds like you’ve got some goals by default: learn how to get through a first time deployment, be flexible and grow, and it sounds like you’ve got big plans for the business 🙂 I set goals, but it’s mostly to make sure I set aside time for the things I love. If I don’t set goals for the activities I love to do then I can get overwhelmed with work and everything else and run out of time to focus on the things that are important to me personally. Happy New Year, Emma! I hope 2018 is a good one.

    1. Thanks for the encouragement girl. I hadn’t thought about it that way. And you’re right, goals are what make me think about how I’m using time instead of just doing whatever seems most urgent. Happy New Year!

  2. I haven’t set specific goals either I’m just trying to maintain certain habits…. But wow, that must have been quite a shock for you and it’s going to be tough being away from each other for so long! I’m sure you will be fine and cope really well but this wasn’t the year you were expecting so it’s going to take a while to adjust to the news and get your head round it xx

    1. Right, exactly! Sometimes (for personal goals) I get caught up in checking the boxes and enjoy it less, which totally defeats the purpose! Thanks for the encouragement about deployment. Definitely a shock, but better now than later and I’m trying to motivate myself to get excited by fitting in some traveling while he’s deploying!

  3. Though it sounds like it’s happening under the best possible circumstances, I can’t imagine what you are going through. After reading your blog for several months now though, I know that you have your feet on the ground and your head on straight, and you will make it through. Never hesitate to reach out to your blogger friends. I know that we live miles away, but we’re all here to support each other. Best wishes, dear friend.

    1. Thanks lovely! That really means a lot. Yeah, on paper this is best possible time for us, and I’m trying to keep myself in good spirits by reminding myself of that and planning some travel while he’s gone!

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